The use of AR devices in the workplace is becoming more prevalent. AR devices are often designed to be worn on a user's head and display information that augments the user's own visual experience. In a workplace setting, a typical AR experience may include being presented with certain visual information about their environment to help them understand and perform their job duties more productively and efficiently.
The AR experience is created by presenting generated content (e.g., text, graphics, images, etc.) that overlay the user's field of view (FOV). This content is typically positioned so that it lends context to items (e.g., objects, people, etc.) within the user's immediate environment. AR devices have embedded sensors to detect and track user orientation, object locations, and environmental conditions such as light intensity and air temperature. Each AR device is coupled to a processor configured by software to utilize data from the sensors to generate the AR content.
Most buildings have control systems to operate lighting and climate-control systems (e.g., heating, ventilation, and cooling, or HVAC) based on user-determined set-points and measured environmental conditions. Control systems may be limited to an on/off switch for lighting systems and a thermostat for climate-control systems. More advanced controllers may have multiple sensors providing location-based temperature and/or lighting inputs. Smart controllers may include energy reduction strategies such as minimizing light from artificial sources to take advantage of natural lighting sources and adjusting the lighting and/or temperature settings when certain areas of buildings are not occupied. Operating and maintaining these systems, however, may include expenses that reduce the expected cost savings. Further, workplaces are often remodeled or rearranged and installing additional sensors to update the building control systems may be cost-prohibitive.
In the United States, workplace conditions are regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). For example, OSHA sets minimum lighting levels (e.g., 5 foot-candles for general construction areas, 20 foot-candles for offices, etc.). OSHA also offers advice on optimizing workplace conditions such as keeping glare from overhead lighting to a minimum to reduce eyestrain, headaches, and even awkward postures on workers. Other workplace conditions (e.g., ambient air temperatures above or below standard comfort levels) affect worker comfort and productivity. In addition to regulatory compliance and worker comfort, many workplaces consider energy reduction goals when designing, setting, and adjusting workplace environmental conditions.
Minimum lighting levels, however, may be difficult to maintain as light bulbs burn out or malfunction. Consistent and comfortable temperatures within a building may be difficult to achieve in drafty or poorly insulated buildings having only one temperature zone and thermostat. Energy costs also affect workplace environmental conditions. Energy control efforts, (e.g., dimming lights in response to building occupancy or natural light levels, using more or less outside air for heating or cooling) are effective but become cost-prohibitive to implement if new controllers, equipment or sensors are needed.
Therefore, a need exists for inexpensive, yet reliable, sensors providing environmental condition data within a building that can be measured and tracked. Sensors embedded in AR devices currently used in workplace settings may be utilized to monitor environmental conditions such as lighting and temperature levels. Algorithms running on processors connected to the sensors determine optimal control settings that may be used by environmental control systems to adjust the lighting and temperature to reduce energy usage. Optimal control settings are based on, at a minimum, considerations of regulatory compliance, worker comfort, and/or energy reduction.